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Huge jump in house prices shows Help to Buy Scheme must be suspended - Pearse Doherty TD

Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has said the Help to Buy Scheme must be suspended to allow a full review before too much damage is done to the housing market.

Teachta Doherty was reacting to the Daft.ie report showing huge jumps in house prices in the first three months of the year.

He said:

“This scheme was always a bad idea. It is, at its core, a demand side solution to a supply side problem. It has directly led to the massive hike in house prices we are currently seeing where prices in Dublin have risen by an average of €17,500 in the first three months of this year.

“When it was proposed, with Fianna Fail facilitating it, the Minister agreed to a review after it was introduced. I said at the time that approach is doing it arse-ways.

“Figures I have obtained through parliamentary questions show that applications already made means that the estimated cost of the scheme could easily be exceeded and worryingly there is no cap on the scheme to prevent it becoming a run-away cost. I will be bringing these questions up with the Minister next week.

“The scheme should now be suspended with no further applications being accepted. In reality it has become a bribe to developers to do their job. Meanwhile the State is still failing in its obligations to build houses for its people.

“Price spikes like this benefit only the hoarders and the banks. This scheme needs to stopped, reviewed and in my view totally abandoned or seriously refined now before even more damage is been done. We cannot afford to see similar price hikes in the next quarter.”